Old-school win: UNC holds off Wake Forest to reach ACC semifinal, keep NCAA hopes alive
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2025 ACC Men’s Tournament
Follow all the action from the 2025 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, NC, with updated scores, standings, game recaps and analysis from the team of writers from the News & Observer, Charlotte Observer and The State.
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It felt as much like a grudge match as a basketball game in March, and was played that way.
It also had the distinct feel of an elimination game in March, which it might turn out to be.
After 40 minutes of elbows thrown, bodies falling, rushed shots, blocked shots, hard fouls and board crashing mixed in with some hard-earned baskets, North Carolina emerging with a 68-59 victory over Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center.
That set up another meeting of UNC and Duke, now ranked No. 1. They’ll go at it Friday in the semifinals, with the status of Duke star Cooper Flagg in doubt because of a sprained ankle.
The Tar Heels (22-12), after blasting Notre Dame by 20 points in their tournament opener, came into Thursday’s game No. 36 in the NET rankings used to help set the NCAA Tournament field. Wake Forest (21-11) was at No. 68, sharing the need to win and move up.
“It definitely was an elimination game today,” UNC’s Seth Trimble said. “The refs felt it and the crowd felt it and both teams felt it. The refs let us play. Everyone felt the situation that was at hand.”
The Heels got the win they needed as R.J. Davis shook off an ankle injury to score 23 points and Ven-Allen Lubin again turned in a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. UNC won despite shooting a season-low 33.9% from the field, despite nine minutes without a field goal in one stretch.
Wake’s Hunter Sallis, a first-team All-ACC pick, had a game-high 25 points but was hounded defensively by UNC’s Drake Powell late in the second half. Sallis made one 3-pointer in the game as the Deacs were 2 for 22 from the arc.
“It was an ugly game,” R.J. Davis said. “It was just the level of physicality, the defenses showing out.”
UNC coach Hubert Davis, who earned his 100th victory as head coach, has said this season that the Heels needed to play with a sense of emergency, not just urgency. With the underlying feeling that the loser might be sitting out the NCAAs, it only heightened the intensity level of the game.
“When we play with that back-against-the-wall mentality, we play our best and play our hardest,” UNC’s Jalen Washington said.
The game became a test of wills in the second half. Things became so heated on one possession that UNC’s Elliot Cadeau and Wake’s Cameron Hildreth got into a wrestling match, resulting in a double foul being called. Neither bench was happy about the result.
Not long after, Hubert Davis all but charged onto the floor demanding a play be reviewed and a foul called against the Deacons. After review, Wake’s Juke Harris was charged with a flagrant foul and UNC shot free throws.
Moments later, a technical foul was called on the UNC bench. So it went.
It was tight in the last five minutes. The Heels’ Jae’Lyn Withers, whose seven 3-pointers against Notre Dame set a UNC tournament record, knocked in one for a 57-56 lead.
After a high-rise block by Lubin on a Sallis shot, R.J. Davis hit a 3-pointer from the wing for a 61-57 lead with 2:43 left. Lubin then smashed through a pair of dunks and it was 65-59, UNC.
“We got Wake’s best shot and we came out with the win,” Powell said.
Hubert Davis and Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes were probably both hoarse by halftime. They liked some of what they saw, some that they didn’t and had some disagreements with the referees’ calls throughout the ultra-physical game.
The Deacons, fresher, excited, jumped out to an 11-2 lead in their first tournament game. That had Davis calling a quick timeout to sort things out.
The Deacons didn’t have to work too hard on one aspect of the game plan: Keeping UNC’s Withers well-covered defensively. After his barrage of 3-pointers against Notre Dame, Withers had defenders running at him whenever the ball came to him.
The Heels led 33-31 at the half despite 35.7% shooting that only improved as the half moved along and a few 3-pointers fell for UNC — Davis had a team-high 10 points at the break and made a couple of deep threes.
The Heels looked smoother just after halftime, surging to a 42-32 lead on a Davis 3-pointer that had an angry Forbes red-faced as he pulled his team to the bench for a few choice words.
Sallis responded by making a tough jumper and moments later a driving layup as UNC had a shot blocked — the UNC coaches, to a man, were howling for a foul — and then a turnover as things tightened up again.
Hildreth, never bashful in taking shots, had a poor first half but had a run of three baskets along with a Tre’Von Spillers dunk as the Deacs moved back ahead, 46-45, with an 8-0 run.
In the game in Winston-Salem this season, the Deacons took 21 more free throws than the Heels in their 67-66 win on Jan. 21. UNC also was 8 for 32 on threes, a season high for 3-pointers taken. There also was some crowing from the Deacs, some of the Heels said.
Now, it’s Duke. Again.
“What’s not to like about having another opportunity against a very good Duke team?” R.J. Davis said. “Obviously we’ve lost to them twice, but I think we’ve shown enough improvement throughout the year that the third time’s the charm.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Old-school win: UNC holds off Wake Forest to reach ACC semifinal, keep NCAA hopes alive."
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